Get Rid Of Clutter 15 Minutes at a Time

Clearing up clutter is a step by step process. I remember the saying from when I sold Amway "Inch by inch, everything is a cinch". Although selling Amway did not become my life's goal, that saying has stuck. I have learned that I can accomplish anything if I break it up into 15 minute increments.

It is important to set a goal the night before, mapping out the square yard area of clutter I want to clear and writing down ten - 15 minute tasks, to do to achieve that goal. Also set out 4 boxes or laundry baskets with labels on them for "keep", "give away", "throw away", and "store: emotional attachment -- get rid of later", according to Don Asslett's method, which works for me. The next day when I get up and am fed, washed, and dressed, I set the timer for 15 minutes and proceed to go through my list of 10.

I do the same thing each day until I have achieved one whole room. I go from room to room following the same principles, until the whole house is complete.

When you bring items into the house, put them away immediately. If you do not have a place for them, you don't need them.

It is important to do maintenance one day per week, checking through the already tidied rooms for "hot spots", as Fly Lady says in her lessons on clearing up clutter. She also recommends the "fling boogey" daily, where you take a plastic garbage sack, hang it over your arm and with the timer set for 15 minutes you go through the house and collect 10 items to get rid of. When the buzzer rings, you take it out to the car ready to take to the thrift store.

In conclusion: I do not find the skeleton closet method to be at all effective. It just creates clutter in a space that has already been tidied. Stuffing things out of sight leaves one feeling cluttered inside, and you still have to deal with it later in an enclosed space. You can see below in the photos how ineffective the skeleton closet method is.

Source: Don Aslett's "Clutter's Last Stand" and Flylady.com, both good sources of help for clutter management. I also acknowledge the Amway sales tapes as a source for the "Inch by inch, everything is a cinch" statement.

By Leila B. from Brookings, OR